Pittsfield's Arbor Day Rite Honors Longtime Volunteer
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| Nancy Goyette helps plant a tree in honor of her late husband, Ron, as RSVP head Arthur Stein and three of her grandchildren watch. |
"Ron was an ordinary man who has left an extraordinary legacy," said Arthur Stein, president of the board of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, of which Goyette was a participant. "The city of Pittsfield and RSVP are indebted to this gentle soul."
At a combination Arbor Day celebration and tree-planting ceremony on Friday afternoon, dozens joined members of Goyette's family and local environmentalists to honor the memory of Goyette, who lost his battle to cancer in 2007.
He was a fixture at several area volunteer organizations, including the American Cancer Society and Habitat for Humanity. He also lent a helping hand at the annual Fourth of July Parade and the Pittsfield Visitors Center and was a youth literacy mentor in the Friends Read program at Robert T. Capeless Elementary School.
A plaque beneath one of the shadbush trees planted in front of City Hall this week reads, "This tree was planted in honor of Ron Goyette for his amazing courage and his outstanding volunteer community service."
<L2>Goyette's family — including his widow, Nancy, son Jay Goyette, daughter Kerry Scarpitto and grandchildren Jay Jr. and Samantha Goyette and Meghan, Leighanne and Nicholas Scarpitto — helped shovel mulch around the young tree.
"He would have liked this," said Kerry Scarpitto.
The Arbor Day festivities, held on the front steps of City Hall to celebrate the 136th anniversary of the holiday's establishment, highlighted the individual's role in working to make the world a better place. With the theme "Go Green!" the ceremony featured speakers from various local environment advocacy groups, who called for major steps to reducing the human impact on the planet.
James McGrath, the city's open space and natural resource program manager, called for action in integrating trees into the fabric of the community.
"I particularly enjoy Arbor Day because it draws attention to the important role trees play in our daily lives, for the health of our environment and our community. It's not just a day to plant trees and then forget the gesture for another 12 months," said McGrath in his welcome address. "Our thought on Arbor Day should be the expression of enduring feeling, thought and action, not just one single, isolate flame of interest."
Promoting recycling, sustainability and energy-efficiency, McGrath facilitated the giveaway of handouts on ways to go green and reusable goodie bags to use at grocery stores in place of paper or plastic ones.
In his keynote address, Jamie Cahillane, the Center for Ecological Technology's recycling services director, advocated doing the little things to help change the world. He listed composting organic waste, insulating buildings, reducing driving and eating less meat as easy ideas that most anyone could do.<R3>
"It's the simple things that you could be doing," said Cahillane.
Representatives from Hebert Arboretum, Pittsfield Beautiful and Pittsfield Tree Watch detailed their plans for the future of tree and flower-planting in the city. In addition to at least 20 trees and 3,000 flowers that are expected to be planted in the next few months, ongoing projects to beautify both Springside and Memorial parks will continue.
Astrid Hagenguth, a member of Pittsfield Tree Watch, called for volunteers to help care of saplings until they are ready to be planted along the streets.
"Trees aren't just a nicety, but a necessity," Hagenguth said. "Let's all turn over a new leaf and hit the ground planting."
